1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates to a method for counteracting the longitudinal oscillations of a magnetic tape as it passes through a tape drive system.
2. Background Art
Conventional tape drive systems for use with magnetic tape include a rotating hub for driving the magnetic tape through the tape drive system, a plurality of rotating rollers for guiding the magnetic tape as it passes through the tape drive system and one or more tape heads or heads which selectively read magnetic information from, and write magnetic information to, the magnetic tape as it passes through the tape drive system. The efficiency of the head is dependent, among other factors, upon its proximity to the magnetic tape as the magnetic tape moves past the head. The smoother the magnetic tape is, the closer its surface is to the tape head and the greater the efficiency of the tape head. Accordingly, it is desirable to use magnetic tape that is as smooth as possible and keep it in contact with the devices on the head surface.
However, as the smoothness of magnetic tape increases, the percentage of its surface that comes in direct contact with the head increases, resulting in an increase in frictional forces acting on the magnetic tape. This increased frictional force imparts vibrations to the magnetic tape in the longitudinal direction. As used herein, any reference to longitude or longitudinal direction is a reference to the direction of intended tape travel through the tape drive system. Oscillation of the magnetic tape in a longitudinal direction as it passes over the head can result in timing variations that can cause misregistration of the data recorded on the magnetic tape which can cause errors when the magnetic data is read or otherwise utilized by the tape drive system. The present invention addresses this and other problems.